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<book id="989199">
  <title><![CDATA[Alphabetical Africa (New Directions Book)]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[0811205339]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9780811205337]]></isbn13>
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  <books_count type="integer">2</books_count>
  <default_description>A continent forms and crumbles through a linguistic tour de force.</default_description>
  <id type="integer">974692</id>
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  <original_language_id type="integer" nil="true"></original_language_id>
  <original_publication_day type="integer">1</original_publication_day>
  <original_publication_month type="integer">5</original_publication_month>
  <original_publication_year type="integer">1974</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>Alphabetical Africa (New Directions Book)</original_title>
  <rating_dist>total:48|5:15|4:13|3:12|2:7|1:1|</rating_dist>
  <ratings_count type="integer">48</ratings_count>
  <ratings_sum type="integer">178</ratings_sum>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">5</text_reviews_count>
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  <average_rating><![CDATA[3.71]]></average_rating>
  <ratings_count><![CDATA[42]]></ratings_count>
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  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/989199.Alphabetical_Africa]]></url>
  <authors>
        <author id="118700">
      <name><![CDATA[Walter Abish]]></name>
      <role><![CDATA[]]></role>
      <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/118700.Walter_Abish]]></url>
      <average_rating><![CDATA[3.68]]></average_rating>
      <ratings_count><![CDATA[194]]></ratings_count>
      <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[25]]></text_reviews_count>
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    <review id="24750824">
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    <name><![CDATA[Anthony]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Los Angeles, CA]]></location>        
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      <rating>4</rating>
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  <date_added>Tue Jun 17 18:00:44 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jun 17 18:22:18 -0700 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[I suppose any review of this book has to explain the unusual form.  I'll try to be brief:  the first chapter is composed entirely with words that begin with the letter &quot;a&quot;, the second with words beginning with either &quot;a&quot; or &quot;b&quot;, and each successive chapter adds a letter...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24750824">more...</a>]]></body>
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    <review id="38825002">
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    <name><![CDATA[Mel]]></name>
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  <date_added>Fri Nov 28 14:55:50 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Nov 28 15:03:29 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A fascinating literary experiment in which all the words in chapter 1 begin with the letter A. In chaper 2, all the words begin with either A or B, and so on, through chapter 26, in which the entire English lexicon is available. Then the process is reversed, each chapter having one less letter to wo...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38825002">more...</a>]]></body>
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    <review id="41061244">
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    <name><![CDATA[Shoshanapnw]]></name>
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  <date_added>Sat Dec 27 21:36:26 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Dec 27 21:36:53 -0800 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[Years ago I wrote a paper on Alphabetical Africa that asserted, in part, that the &quot;story&quot; struggled to express itself through the alphabetical artifice, some evidence of which was to be found in the erroneous use of words beginning with disallowed letters. Someone who knew Abish mentioned ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41061244">more...</a>]]></body>
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</review>
    <review id="9164166">
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  <read_at>Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Thu Nov 15 14:45:09 -0800 2007</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[A great experiment in composition, <em>Alphabetical Africa</em>’s first chapter only uses words that begin with ‘a.’ One sentence might read, “An ant ascended all apexes,” though Abish’s sentences make a little more sense. The second chapter only uses ‘a’ and ‘b’ words; “An ant ascended...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9164166">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9164166]]></url>
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    <review id="13562631">
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  <read_at>Mon May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2000</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jan 25 16:02:37 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jan 25 16:42:45 -0800 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[One for the grad students, but surprisingly good. The first chapter is sentences only containing words that begin with &quot;A&quot;. The second is sentences only containing words that begin with &quot;A&quot; or &quot;B&quot;. The third.... And so on until it's all the letters, and then Abish rever...]]></body>
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